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Our mission is the creation of a society in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people enjoy the basic rights of equality, privacy, personal autonomy, freedom of belief and expression, and freedom from harassment.

Our nation has unquestioned authority to control its borders and to regulate immigration. We must exercise the awesome power to exclude or deport immigrants consistent with the rule of law and the requirements of the Constitution.

is a lawsuit brought by parents, students and a former administrator against the State of California for the failure to respond to reports that districts did not provide essential language instruction to English learner students.

Don’t complain on the scene or tell the police they’re wrong or that you’re going to file a complaint.

Do not make any statements regarding the incident.

Ask for a lawyer immediately upon your arrest.

Remember officers’ badge and patrol car numbers.

Write down everything you remember ASAP.

Try to find witnesses and their names and phone numbers.

If you are injured, take photographs of the injuries as soon as possible, but make sure you seek medical attention first.

If you feel your rights have been violated, file a written complaint with the police department’s internal affairs division or civilian complaints board, call the ACLU at (213)977- 5253 or go through our legal intake system here.

When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view. That includes pictures of federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police. Such photography is a form of public oversight over the government and is important in a free society.

Police officers may not generally confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant. If you are arrested, the contents of your phone may be scrutinized by the police, although their constitutional power to do so remains unsettled. In addition, it is possible that courts may approve the seizure of a camera in some circumstances if police have a reasonable, good-faith belief that it contains evidence of a crime by someone other than the police themselves (it is unsettled whether they still need a warrant to view them).

Police may not delete your photographs or video under any circumstances.

Police officers may legitimately order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. Professional officers, however, realize that such operations are subject to public scrutiny, including by citizens photographing them.

The right to photograph does not give you a right to break any other laws. For example, if you are trespassing to take photographs, you may still be charged with trespass.